It is normal for data processing equipment to be aggregated of a plurality of cards, which have electrical components mounted thereon and which have the inter-component and intercard electrical connections provided by conducting lines formed on the card surfaces. Such cards are assembled into a housing and/or onto a board, also incorporating conducting lines, the function of which is to transmit electrical signals from component to component, card to card and from card to board and so on. Further, repairs are effected by card replacement. The function of the connector mechanisms to which the present invention relates is to inter-connect the conducting lines on any pair of abutting structures, whether these be cards, boards, cables or housings.
The prior art contains many proposed forms of such connectors and reference is made to but a selection of these, by way of example, the criterion for selecting being that all the prior art selections involve the use of a flexible conductive member, in some form or other, and one of the basic elements of the present invention is a flexible conductive film though the present invention uses its film in a way that is not to be found in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,149,896 to Hall J. R., relates to connecting a multiple conductor cable to a rigid circuit element by clamping the cable into a housing in such a way that its conductors are coupled to pins in the housing which extend into a slot into which the rigid circuit element is pushed, displacing the pins and establishing the required electrical connections. This is a typical example of the kind of connector which is virtually certain to damage the conducting lines of any rigid circuit element which is repeatedly pushed into the slot. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,825,878 to Finger C., and 4,227,767 to Mouissie B., are essentially similar, as is, to some extent, the arrangement described in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 25, No. 1, June 1982, pages 370 and 371, although it hints at a modification which might avoid insertion damage in that the housing may be arranged with extension to permit it to be used in the manner of a so-called "Bull" clip.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,573,704 to Tarver C. R., 3,629,787 to Wilson J., and 4,116,516 to Griffin W. L., all relate to connectors which may avoid the damage problem since they are dismantled and reassembled around the elements to be interconnected but cannot be thought of as being particularly convenient. The last of these three patents deals with the establishing of electrical connections to the various layers in a multi-layer cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,977,756 to Rodondi A. F., relates to a connector in which a flexible printed circuit is wrapped around a rigid printed circuit and then is secured in its operative condition by a cap which is forced thereover. In this case, apart from being limited in the types of structure that it can interconnect, it may damage the flexible circuit board.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,252,389 to Olsson B. E., and 4,334,728 to Reynolds C. E. et al., however, both relate to zero insertion force connectors and are essentially non-damaging. In each case, a clamp carried by the rigid structure is used to exert wiping pressure on the idle side of a flexible conductive film placed between it and the rigid structure. These kinds of arrangement have several undesirable features including an unavoidable dependence on the accuracy of the user and the need for the clamp, in toto, to be carried by the rigid structure. In addition, the application of such an arrangement is essentially limited.
The present invention seeks to provide a connector mechanism that is non-damaging, of general application, is capable, at least in an extended form, of tolerating less than accurate handling by the user and will ensure positive electrical coupling of compatible structure and conducting line combinations.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector mechanism releasably electrically interconnecting two structures, each said structure carrying conducting lines, said connector mechanism comprising common actuator means; fixed contact means, said fixed contact means being mounted on one of said structures, electrically connected to said conducting lines on said one of said structures and fixed relative to said one of said structures; flexible conductive film, said flexible conductive film forming part of the other of said structures and accommodating at least one extension of said conducting lines thereof; floating contact means, said floating contact means being an electrically integral part of said flexible conductive film, carried by said common actuator means and free to move both toward and away from said fixed contact means as well as across said fixed contact means, as independent motions, under the control of said common actuator means, while said structures are maintained in an engaged juxtaposition.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector mechanism for electrically connecting a first and second structure, each of which carries conducting lines, comprising fixed contact means provided on said first structure and electrically connected to the conducting lines carried by said first structure, flexible film means provided with conducting lines, said conducting lines on said film being electrically connected at one end of said film means to the conducting lines carried by said second structure, floating contact means provided on said flexible film means, said conducting lines on said film means being electrically connected at the other end of said film means to said floating contact means, and actuator means associated with said film means for moving said floating contact means both toward and away from said fixed contact means and across the fixed contact means, as independent motions, while said structures are maintained in an engaged juxtaposition.
As described hereinafter, a connector mechanism according to the present invention, for electrically connecting two structures carrying conducting lines, comprises fixed contacts on one of the structures and floating contacts on the other of the structures, the floating contacts being free to move towards and away from the fixed contacts and across the fixed contacts as independent motions, under the control of a common actuator each floating contact being an electrically integral part, carried by the actuator, of a flexible conductive film.
The provision of a shroud on the fixed contact structure carrying markings registered with the fixed contacts and engaging the actuator provides coarse location, while the flexibility of the web and the mounting of the floating contacts on a resilient pad, on a carriage provided with cam followers riding on a multi-throw linear cam permits independent locating and wiping motions, independently of each other and at selected pressures, including, of course, zero pressure on insertion making the connector mechanism an effective ZIF connector.
The present invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.